Black Panther
Directed By: Ryan Coogler
Grade: A-
So I wasn’t able to see Black Panther opening weekend and by the time I went a lot had already been written mostly raving about it so my expectations were pretty darned high. Truth be told I didn’t love it as much as some people but it was still a completely enjoyable fun movie and I think there were still some things that really surprised me.
All the performances in the film were excellent. Whether I liked the characters or not I thought everyone did a great job. Letitia Wright was a real stand out as Shuri (as everyone has said), Andy Serkis was really good as well. I really liked Killmonger’s father though he’s not in the film a lot and then I saw that was Sterling K. Brown the guy everyone raves about from This is Us. (Never seen This is Us.)
Another standout to me was Winston Duke as M’Baku the leader of the Jabari tribe who was both intimidating and surprisingly funny- you don’t think that the first time you see the character.
The opening of Black Panther which tells the story of Wakandu was really beautiful as well. That totally pulled me in. As has been said many times all three female characters (Wright, Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong’o) totally stole the show. Story-wise the politics of Wakanda were quiet interesting. T’Challa’s desire to be a good King and a good man, the question of should they intervene or should they stay hidden and the thread between Okyoe and Nakia about are you loyal to the man or the throne/country.
Production and costume design is also top-notch. I loved the look of the city and the ceremonies of Wakanda.
Really interesting threads to play with and work through for the characters.
On the downside?
I thought it was a little too long while romance wasn’t really a big part of the movie I didn’t really feel T’Challa and Nakia or Okyoe and her “my love,” eek. I don’t want to give away spoilers but that was definitely the character I liked the least. I hope she dumped his ass. The fight at the end was a little too comic-booky for me.
I don’t think there’s anything else I can add.
Recommend: Yes. If you haven’t seen it already it’s totally worth a trip to the theater.